HEALING A BROKEN LILY
by yinyangsangel
Summary: 22 year old Lily Luna Potter is in a abusive relationship.She's been beaten down,unable to leave.Or at least, that's until a certain blue haired Metamorphmagus wizard finds out.But hurt already,can Teddy help her become the same girl he came to love?
1. A FACADE

She sometimes wondered where this had gone all wrong.

Had it been when she first met him, in her last year of Hogwarts? Could it have been the words that he had used to whisk her into a love induced stupor and to not realize that something was wrong?

Whatever it had been, Lily Luna Potter, daughter of the famous Harry Potter, knew one thing.

The moment she had met Sedley Johar, she had been doomed to pain and misery.

She sighed, touching the side of her face gingerly, wincing as pain coursed through the touch. Another bruise. Did he have to hit her so hard? What had she done that time?

In all honesty she couldn't even remember, far too used to him coming home angry and using her as a means of a punching bag to relinquish his frustrations at work. Then he would go to a bar and get roaring drunk, returning to her only to force her to agree to shag him. She didn't even _consider _that now to be an act of love. Nor did she consider this to be a happy marriage…a perfect union as the newspapers called it. It was meaningless.

But yet she stayed with him.

"_Why…why do stay with a man who clearly just sees you as an object?"_

_**Could it be the fact that you know no one would want you?**_

Lily froze at that suggestion her hand slowly rising to her face and hesitantly she looked up at her image in the mirror. And immediately looked away. Haunted brown eyes stared at her, bearing down into her flesh as though patronizing what she had become. Dark blotches patterned her skin and her once wavy, healthy red locks now looked sickly, dead, and was flat against her skull.

_**You know it to be the truth. You are nothing now. You never were.**_

The voice weaved its words around her like a web ensnaring her, trapping her like a moth to a spider's web.

No matter how much she tried to deny it, she knew she couldn't.

She bit her lip to stop herself from crying, walking out of her bedroom quickly as to stop herself from staring at her pitiful state. She passed by photos of her family, both the immediate family and her enlarged Weasley, Delacour, Johnson, Anderson, Tonks, Lupin…

At the thought of Lupin, she immediately thought of Teddy and her heart made a jump.

She had heard that him and Victoire had broke it off about a year after she had gotten married, when Sedley had begun to slowly push her away from her friends and family. She had learned about the break up from a letter from her mother. A part of her was sad that the couple had ended, and that part had voiced it when she saw Sedley glare at her. But the other part, the secret part, was glad.

She wondered how he was doing…

* * *

Teddy rolled over in his bed, trying to go back to sleep. But sleep didn't come. He groaned and opened his light brown eyes, sitting up. He rubbed his tealish blue hair, trying to comb the spiky strands down, which to his credit managed to push them down for a whole five seconds before it sprung back up. He sighed giving up on his hair and sat up, pulling his trousers up from where they were currently resting, knowing they would just slide back down to his hips again. He walked out of his room, careful to not kill himself on some discarded shoes or a thrown off shirt.

Merlin, living as a bachelor had its perks but it did have its downfalls.

"_But that was only because Vic was a neat freak."_ He thought absently as he poured a cup of milk before drinking it.

It was true…he had never inherited his father's apparent tidiness, apparently taking after his mother in that. Among other things. He looked up when he heard a tapping on the kitchen window and spotted a post owl. He found some money before opening the window and retrieving the Daily Prophet and several pieces of mail from the bird. He handed the tip to the avian who hooted before taking off. He flipped through the envelopes pausing at the familiar handwriting.

"_Hm…wonder what Harry is asking for…"_ He thought absently placing the other mail onto the kitchen table and opening the letter. He read it and had to smile.

Apparently they were having a family reunion in celebration of Victoire's marriage to some French bloke.

"Well at least she didn't die of a broken heart." He murmured absently staring at the invite. He might as well go and see everyone.

"_Maybe Lily will show up."_ He thought frowning. It bothered him…well it bothered all of them at how far away she was and how antisocial she had become. Especially to him. It hurt because of how close they had been when they were younger, but he couldn't exactly blame her. It could have been a majority of things. One of them was his dislike of her husband. For starters whoever would name their child Sedley, obviously wanted him to be hated. Next was the fact he treated her, to his eyes, like trash. She was always getting him stuff when he asked (more like demanded) it and never received a thank you or anything in return.

He had voiced his concerns to her, not in the exactly most appropriate way. He had called Sedley a bunch of names causing her to get angry and yell at him. What she had said had struck a nerve. He didn't have the right to judge who she went out with, especially since she had never judged him and Victoire. It had been a painful reminder of his failing relationship with Vic and he hated watching her storm out, slamming the door hard enough to dislodge several photos.

Sure he had made mistakes…but that didn't mean she had had the right to take it out on her whole family.

Well she would show up. He hoped.

* * *

"Hey…Sed…honey?" Lily said softly folding her hands, turning from the kitchen table. Sedley looked up with a glare and she swallowed almost telling him forget it. But she gritted her teeth. "My family is having a reunion in a few weeks and they invited us over."

"So? Tell them you can't make it."

"But Sed…I haven't seen them in nearly a year. I miss them." She said, and saw his eyes take on a dangerous sheen. "Please?" she whispered and saw him gnashing his teeth together. She winced, expecting an explosion of rage. It never came as he lifted the paper back up and began to read.

"Fine. We'll go and see them." He finally said and she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding before returning to cooking dinner, her heart light.

She was going to see her family.

**LALALALA~! ALRIGHT SO WHILE I AM A SCORPIUS X LILY FAN, I AM MORE OF A TEDDY X LILY FAN XD. IT'S OKAY IF YOU AREN'T BUT IF YOU DO READ AND REVIEW PLEASE~!**


	2. REUNION

"Teddy, you're here!" he heard and couldn't help but smile as he entered the Potter residence. It was really quite serene being in several acres of open field, far away from the city. Nothing but the wilderness around them. Perfect for playing Quidditch. In all honesty it reminded him of the Burrow and it felt like home.

Which in all honesty was perfectly alright with him.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world Aunt Ginny." He said accepting the hug that she gave him. "How's Uncle Harry?"

"Perfectly fine. Trying to keep my Mum busy with the grandkids so she stays out of the kitchen giving me grief about what I'm serving."

"James and Al are already here?"

"Oh no. Al is the only one. You really expect anyone in James's family to be here on time do you?" she asked a teasing smile and he laughed.

"No, I guess not." He said and then the smile faltered slightly. "How about Lil?" he asked and to his shock her smile brightened.

"She replied back a few days ago saying she could come. Sedley isn't going to make it, but she said she wouldn't miss it for the world." Ginny said and Teddy felt relief rush through him for both reasons.

"That's great Aunt Ginny." He finally voiced and she smiled.

"Harry was beside himself in joy. He missed his little girl all year." Ginny said as he walked in. He frowned slightly, but kept his mouth shut. It had never been like Lily to not visit. But ever since she had married Johar she had virtually stopped.

"Well, Harry will get to see her for a week." He said before placing another grin on his face. "Now then, how about I help you cook? I definitely need some of your homemade cooking compared to the takeout I've been eating."

* * *

Lily sighed as she placed her final piece of clothes in her suitcase, latching it closed. She had enough clothes for the week, presents for her family (all stuff she had made) as well as some toys for her nieces and nephews. She then looked at herself. Her hair was tied in a loose braid, smooth and was wearing a simple long-sleeved dress that went up to her knees. White sandals complemented the dress.

"You look ugly in that." She heard someone slur and closed her eyes, swallowing. He just had to come home right then didn't he? She chose to ignore the comment and began to leave. Sedley however suddenly gripped her elbow and dragged her back to him. She looked at him in shock and then saw the way he was staring at her.

She knew that look.

"Sed, I'll be late." She begged her voice pleadingly soft and she tugged on her arm as though that would give him the hint.

"Now."

"Sedley I have to go or I'll-"

"If you don't fucking shut up, you won't be going at all." He warned his voice slurring from the alcohol that he had drank for hours before. She froze, staring at him as though he had lost his senses before her eyes shifted downwards, complying and stopped fighting. She expected him to shove her down onto the bed as he always did.

However to her shock he slammed her into the wall, forcing her feet off the ground and pinning her to it. She scrunched her eyes closed as his breathing intensified in her ear and her mind drifted to her dark happy place, where he couldn't touch her and use her. She stayed there till he was finished with a loud grunt in her ear and he stumbled away to the bed to collapse onto. She stared at his form before shoving her skirt down and roughly brushing her eyes with her hand happy she hadn't put any make up on then and grabbed her bag, first going to the loo to clean herself up, put some makeup on before casting a spell to shrink her luggage and hurrying out before Sedley Johar even roused himself up.

And maybe…just maybe she would forget that that had happened…and how useless she was to stop it.

Maybe.

* * *

"Unca Teddy! Up!" a little girl with bright green eyes ordered waving her hands around. Teddy grinned and picked up the youngest of Albus Potter's children and threw her in the air causing her to squeal and giggle loudly. All the Weasley's as well as their offspring and the offspring's offspring had made it.

Well almost everyone.

"_Lily still isn't here."_ He mused as he tickled the one year old who was giggling loudly. He hoped that she hadn't changed her mind…though given the circumstances he wouldn't be surprised if-

"Sorry I'm late."

Teddy immediately spun slightly to see no longer the young adult that he had last seen, but instead a young woman. Lily had matured greatly in looks since she was 19, her hips curved more, her hair was longer. She had entered the Potter household via the backyard gate, and stood there looking around awkwardly, as though she thought she didn't quite fit in.

She looked beautiful in his eyes.

"Lily!" he heard and saw the Potter clan forced themselves not to rush over and tackle the woman who they hadn't seen in over a year. Instead Ginny and Harry were first, both hugging their daughter though Harry planted a kiss on the woman's forehead.

"Sweetheart, you made it." Harry said and Lily laughed.

"I wouldn't miss it." She said. Teddy was still staring at her. But now he was more analyzing. Yes she looked beautiful…but there was something off. The lovely smile she had on her face didn't quite match her face, and she looked tired.

Something was wrong.

**THIS PART IS A BIT...DARK. BUT THERE WILL ONLY BE ABOUT ONE OR TWO CHAPTERS THAT IS THIS DARK. THEN IT WILL GET SWEET. PROMISE.**


	3. RESCUED

"Auntie Lily!" a voice cried out. Lily blinked and focused back into the real world, smiling gently at her niece. Merlin, she couldn't believe Albus was a father. Even though she had managed to be there for the labor and had even held her niece…it was still so unreal to her.

"Yes sweetie?" she asked, bending down to her level. Mary giggled sweetly.

"Can you pway dolls with me? No one else wants to." The little girl said, pouting. Lily laughed softly before nodding and sitting down next to the girl.

"You can be the Daddy. I'll pway the Mummy." She said and Lily withheld a flinch.

"Sure sweetie…do you have any preference on how you want the Daddy to be played?" she asked. Mary frowned as though that was obvious.

"Like any Daddy, silly Auntie Lily."

"Is it alright if I play Grandpa, Sweetie?" she asked, referring to Harry. "I'm afraid that Uncle…Uncle Sedley and I don't have any children yet." She said, forcing a smile on. Mary grinned.

"Mhm!" she said before handing her an aged doll that looked like it had been through more than one cycle of a cleaning spell. She heard a chuckle behind her and glanced up, spotting Albus walking up to her, with a content smile on his face.

"Ah…it seems she's snagged you." Albus said as he walked up to the pair, sitting next his little sister, his smile growing as Mary got up and toddled to him with a delighted smile.

"It seems she has. Merlin, she's grown up so fast." Lily commented, as Mary began to babble to her female doll making a conversation between her and the doll.

"She has. I remember when she couldn't even walk and now look at her. Nearly as adventurous as her aunt and uncle."

"I was never that adventurous. That was always James." Lily said, smirking.

"True." Albus conceded. "But not many girls were willing to go headfirst into a river to get a ball that had gone onto the other side."

"Mum nearly skinned us alive." Lily said with a laugh

"Us? Hey she left me out of it." Albus said laughing as well.

"Daddy!" Mary yelled out suddenly wrapping her small chubby arms around his neck and giving him a sloppy kiss on his cheek "I wove you." she said happily and Lily smiled.

"You're a great father Al." Lily said and watched as her brother's face turned bright red.

"Well you'll be a great mother eventually." he concluded. This time she wasn't able to stop the flinch and offered a tight smile.

"…Maybe."

"Come to think about it, you were always the one who said she wanted to have kids young. I'm surprised you haven't dragged any tykes of your own." Albus said. In truth he had never liked Sedley Johar but if he made Lily happy, then he could deal with it. Though there was always that nagging doubt deep in his mind that something was wrong. Lily offered a shrug.

"Sed…isn't really ready to have children." Lily said. And he most likely never would be she thought to herself.

"Well marriage is a funny thing, both people of that union have to take and give equally. You're giving up a lot of things to be where he can have his career. He should be giving you kids."

"My marriage doesn't work like that." Lily said, mostly to herself.

"What?" Albus asked looking at his sister in slight confusion and alarm. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing! Nothing…forget I said anything." she said quickly. She could now feel his eyes bearing down on her, analyzing her. She mentally noted each bruise and was thankful it was all hidden. "I just mean…that…well Sed's been really busy so he's rarely at home." she said. It was a partial truth…Sedley was barely there, he was normally at some pub getting drunk to the point he would black out. And some nights he wouldn't come home at all.

"Lily…do you not love Sed anymore?" Albus finally asked and Lily's head snapped up, staring at him in shock. His expression was stern and serious, almost a mirror image of Harry. She swallowed. She had always _failed_ when it came to lying to that face.

"I-"

"Lily! Can you help me make dinner?" they heard Ginny call out. Lily sighed inwardly in relief.

"Coming!" she called out, getting up quickly. As she turned Albus snagged her wrist, causing her to turn.

"Lily…look…if you aren't happy you can tell us. We're family. You know that right?"

"_How can I tell you that within nearly a year after I married Sed that he had me as a puppet that only served him and am his punching bag? How can I tell you that?"_

"I know." she lied with a tired smile before quickly going to help their mother. Albus sighed.

"Daddy? Is Auntie Lily sad?" Mary asked looking up at her father expectantly. He sighed, combing the girls black locks with his fingers earning a sweet innocent giggle.

"I don't know sweetie. I don't know."

* * *

"And that is how James learned not to let Aaron run around without supervision." Albus said. James glared at his baby brother, before mockingly glaring at his son who grinned at his father, a near mirror image of his father's face. Lily smiled.

"James, you should have known that he would do that. He is a carbon copy of you." Hugo stated with a grin.

"Har har. Just you all wait, I'll get even with you somehow." James grumbled. Ginny glared at her eldest son with a look that mirrored her own mothers'.

"You most certainly will not young man."

"But Mum-"

"No buts mister." Ginny said smacking her spoon on his hand. He withdrew it quickly and grumbled. Lily laughed softly. Nothing had changed in her family. Only her.

"So Lily, any funny stories about where you live?"

"I don't think I have anything that could compare to Aaron finding a beaver, bringing it home, naming him Bucky and asking James if they could keep it." Lily said with a smile as James's face began to mirror the color of her hair. She grinned.

"Yes, yes laugh all you blokes want." James grumbled. "Bucky was a wonderful pet until he started making kindle wood out of the furniture." James said. And with that the entire family burst into laughter. It was a few hours later when Teddy finally found Lily. He had been meaning to talk to her privately but hadn't found the time to do so. She was outside sitting on an old swing set that he remembered they would play on. He remembered that he would be the one to push her as high as he could get her to go before getting yelled at Ginny for being so dangerous.

"Enjoying the quiet?" he asked as he walked up. She glanced up at him, earning a soft smile before kicking a small clump of grass.

"Yeah. Need to do so every now and then when I'm with my family."

"Never a dull moment for the Weasley's." Teddy concluded, sitting on the swing next to her as she laughed.

"That is true." she said in-between her laughs.

"Yeah…so…how's life been treating you?" he asked and she fell silent. "You kept side-stepping the question during dinner."

"I did not." she retorted.

"Lil's you would only say 'good', 'it's alright', and so forth." Teddy replied. "You never elaborated on it."

"Because that's a good enough answer." she replied. He sighed but decided not to press.

"Look Lily…about the last time we saw each other…like actually saw each other and didn't yell at one another. I'm sorry for what I said."

"You don't have to be." she responded quickly. He looked at her perplexed. This definitely didn't remind him of his Lily. The Lily he remembered would have responded haughtily and asked him what took so long.

"Lily? Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Why?" she said.

"Well when you got here you looked exhausted, and then you keep avoiding questions…you're not in trouble with anyone are you? Sed didn't do anything did he?"

"_You have no idea."_ Lily thought bitterly. "No…we aren't in trouble with anyone." she said, her voice soft. "Just…a friend of mine is having issues with her marriage and I've been dragged into it."

"Really? The drama." he joked and she offered a small smile.

"Well…I think she's been abused, but she denies it. A lot."

"Well then she should go to the authorities."

"Where we live, he's pretty high up in the politics and business and she doesn't think anyone would believe her. Besides…he's also a drunkard."

"And that makes it okay to hurt her?" he asked confused. She gripped the rope of the swing tightly.

"No it doesn't…but she can't just leave." Lily said. "She doesn't have a place to go, and she's pretty sure her family would either see her as a nuisance or not believe her."

"Lily…if your friend is in as much trouble as you're making it seem, she needs to leave. And I doubt her family wouldn't believe her or see her as a nuisance." he stated, with a pat to the shoulder. She blinked. "I'll go get us some dessert and be right back, okay?" he asked and she offered a laugh.

"Yeah sure." she responded. "Thanks for listening to me." she said.

"Anytime. Be right back." he said and without so much as another word he got up and walked back to the Potter residence. Lily stared at his receding form, before sighing and looking up at the darkened sky.

If only he knew.

* * *

The family reunion had ended too quickly in Lily's opinion as she began to pack her bag. Or at least she was trying to pack. Every single cousin, niece and nephew had given her a gift of some sort. She wasn't even sure if she would have room for her clothes.

"Merlin…what am I going to do?"

"You know you could always borrow another suitcase. Your Mum won't kill you." a voice interjected. Lily turned to see Teddy standing there.

"I would but I don't know how long it will be before I visit again." she commented. Teddy frowned and then sighed.

"Well then how about I come along and help you?" he asked and she looked at him in disbelief.

"You don't have to-"

"I want to." he replied. She stared at him and then sighed.

"Figures the one part of your personality that you take after your mother is her stubbornness." she commented. He grinned.

"Oh come on I'm not that bad." he said and she smiled softly at him. "So how 'bout it?"

"I know when a fight is lost Teddy Lupin." she stated, crossing her arms as though she was annoyed. He cracked a large grin and she too couldn't help but smile. A little while later they had arrived via portkey to the small town that Lily lived in. It was small and quaint.

"Wow…this town is so…you." Teddy said. Lily forced a smile. The town was like her, but now she felt like it was her tomb. Finally they reached her house. She inwardly prayed that Sedley hadn't destroyed the house. Hesitating for a second, she opened the door. And sighed in relief. The house was still the way she left it. But no matter what she could see places that Sedley would blame her for not cleaning.

"Wow…it's…"

"Dirty…I know." Lily concluded. Teddy looked at her in shock.

"Lily, are you mad? If this is considered dirty…I don't even want you to see my flat." Teddy said and Lily laughed.

"Really?" she asked, forcing the quavering in her voice to leave. Teddy frowned, setting his wallet down that he had taken out to resituate around onto the counter.

"Yeah…Lily? Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh yeah…I'm fine. Just…going to miss everyone." Lily said with a bright smile. Frowning, he pulled her into a hug.

"I'll miss you to Lil's. You'll write right?" he asked.

"Y-yeah of course I-"

"What the hell are you doing to my wife?"

Lily and Teddy separated and looked at the entrance to see Sedley standing there. He was just staring at them. Lily saw the anger in his eyes.

"I'm saying goodbye. I had to help her drop off some stuff." Teddy said.

"Well now you did just that." Sedley retorted, his voice even. Lily felt Teddy stiffen.

"Yeah…I guess I did." Teddy replied. "Bye Lil's." he said. She swallowed and then forced a smile.

"Bye Teddy…" she whispered out. He quickly left slamming the door shut. It was silent for a few minutes as she heard the familiar pop of Teddy dispparating away.

"Sedley-"

The smack came hard across her face and she stumbled, holding her cheek.

"You…little…bitch!" he hissed out.

"Sedley, he's a childhood friend! He was being nice!" Lily argued. The next slap came hard across her other cheek.

"You little slag! This is why I said you shouldn't go! I KNEW you would sleep with any guy there! I bet you slept with your cousins husbands didn't you!"

"Sedley! They're my family! I would never do that!" Lily cried out. But he was already ranting and raving about him marrying a whore. She began to crumble…

"_Lily…if your friend is in as much trouble as you're making it seem, she needs to leave. And I doubt her family wouldn't believe her or see her as a nuisance."_

She blinked and then bit her lip and looked at Sedley.

"I'm leaving."

He froze mid-step and stared at her.

"Come again?"

"I said I'm _**LEAVING. **_I am not going to stay another minute here!" she yelled out, her voice dripping with anger. And that is when the atmosphere changed completely. He suddenly seemed to have grown in size and stature, his eyes darker.

And she screamed.

* * *

Meanwhile by the time Teddy had cooled off enough to where he was in his right mind, he had already returned to his flat. As he got to his door, he went to go get his wallet, which he had his key in. He blinked in confusion when he realized it was no longer in its' normal spot. For a second he thought he had been pickpocketed. And then he remembered putting it down on the kitchen counter in Lily's home.

He cursed himself and debated on just spending the night at someone's place, but quickly got rid of that idea. He would have to visit eventually to get it back. Sighing his apparated away and returned back to the small cottage. He hesitated and decided he didn't have to knock. He turned the knob and opened the door. Apparently Sedley didn't think people would try to rob them. Teddy reentered the house, quickly spotting his wallet where he had left it. As he stooped to pick it up he heard the sounds of hard breathing and grunting. He felt the sudden need to vomit as well as anger slice his stomach.

Bloody hell did they have to be so LOUD?

He turned in disgust about to slam the door shut as he left, maybe to get their attention and freak them out.

"Stop…"

Teddy paused his hand inches from the doorknob. Had he heard that correctly? That _sounded_ like Lily. But it was nearly a decibel lower and sounded completely meek and weak. The Lily he knew voiced her actions quite loudly, though nothing in comparison to her brothers.

"Sed…please…stop!" he heard and this time couldn't mistake the sound of pleading etched in the voice. Teddy looked up the stairs and then slowly began to advance towards the connection to the second floor. The sounds were getting louder with each step, but he began to realize it was only masculine…no feminine sounds were being heard. And for some reason that worried him.

He could see the light that lined the edges of the closed door leading to the bedroom. Where the sounds were emitting from. Though now it was only panting and some curse words within the breaths. None of it sounded like Lily. Only Sedley Johar.

He hesitated at the door. If it was what he thought it had been when he had just about left, how much firewhiskey was he going to have to down to get that image out of his head? But that other part, the part that was slowly growing in strength was asking what if it wasn't? What if she needed him? He pushed out the thoughts of being scarred for the rest of his life and shoved the door open, blinded by the light for a split second.

When his vision cleared, he felt his stomach drop and bile shoot up his throat.

Sedley Johar didn't even notice him, his back to the door. Clutched in his hand was deep red locks connected to a form that seemed to have shrunk in comparison to the man that stood over her. Lily seemed to be barely conscious, her eyes barely open. Blood dripped down her forehead curving down her cheek and dripping off her chin. He could see bruises that had appeared, had she been placing a glamour charm on herself when she had visited and he had last seen her? Her form was limp and that seemed to infuriate Johar further as he forced her head higher and before Teddy could react, smacked Lily across the face hard.

Teddy Remus Lupin, a man who rarely lost his temper, instead was normally all grins and laughs, snapped.

With a guttural roar he rushed forward, surprising the other man. Teddy slammed his now closed fists into Johar's jaw watched as Sedley's head snapped in one direction.

"YOU LOUSY, SON OF A BITCH!" he roared, his hair changing to pitch black, his eyes changing to mirror the fury that had consumed him. He continued his barrage of fists, feeling the satisfying of bones breaking, blood flying. He stopped finally after what for him what felt like hours, but in actuality was only minutes. Sedley Johar lay in blood and broken teeth, breathing, still alive—unfortunately—but out cold. Teddy's gaze then quickly shifted to the form that had been dragged along with Sedley, her hair still gripped tightly in Johar's fist. He pulled the fist open and allowed the assaulted tresses to fall limply out of his hand, haloing around their mistress.

"Lily! Lily, come on!" He cried out immediately scooping her up. She whimpered softly, her voice rough sounding even to him.

"…stop…please…" She begged weakly to the air and he felt like crying.

"It's okay Lily. I promise you. It's okay. You're safe. I promise." He said. She shifted and blinked, her vision clearing.

"Ted?" she asked. He laughed weakly.

"Yeah…yeah it's me Lil's." he said before hearing Sedley groan. Gently he placed Lily back on the ground and advanced Sedley. He wanted to kill him. Send him to the deepest and darkest hell and make sure that torture would be unimaginable. But he had to get Lily out of here first.

Determined not to let him go, he conjured up some rope and proceeded to tie the unconscious man to the bedposts, making sure that the knots wouldn't untie on their own, and he made sure Sedley's wand was far away. He couldn't summon if it if he had wanted to…his jaw was clearly broken. Sighing he went back to Lily and picked her up, pocketing her wand into his pocket.

"I'm taking you to Mungo's."

"No."

"Lily."

"It's not that bad…I've gone through worse." She murmured and he felt his heart drop. She had gone through _**worse**_? He gripped her tighter.

"Can you apparate?"

"Not unless you want me to splinch myself? I'm fine, but not that fine." She replied. He swallowed.

"Okay. Be really still okay? I'm taking you back to my flat." He said and felt her nod against his shoulder. With that he apparated away. And all was eerily silent once again.

…**I KNOW THIS CHAPTER IS A BIT…AWKWARD….SORRY. BUT AT LEAST LILY IS OUT OF THE HOUSE…RIGHT? _**


	4. CAN'T WISH THESE WOUNDS AWAY

_Lily was sobbing on the ground, wailing loudly as she sat there on the ground. One knee was scrapped badly and blood was dripping down onto the ground. She kept on bawling even as someone ran up to her._

"_**You okay Lily?!" **__a voice asked and she looked up to see Teddy squatting down in front of her, concern etched on his face. Lily let out a small whimper._

"_**I hurt my knee." **__She managed to say before going into a fit of crying again. He frowned before examining it._

"_**Aw Lily…it doesn't look too bad."**_

"_**But it hurts!" **__she cried out. Sighing he smiled softly before picking her up. She looked at him in shock but he only offered a large grin._

"_**It's okay Lil's. Whenever you're hurting, I'll be there to hold you and pick you up."**_

"_**Promise?"**_

"_**Of course I do. You're my Lil's. I won't let anything happen to you."**_

Teddy grunted as he hoisted Lily up again in his arms. Lily looked at him hesitantly before glancing back down.

"I can walk."

"I don't care." He responded, his voice gruff, still laced with traces of anger. He fiddled around for his wallet and managed to find his key, before jamming into the lock. Once he entered he kicked the door closed and maneuvered around the mess of his flat, before settling her on the edge of his bed. She continued looking down as she heard him walking around, shifting the amounts of trash around.

"…you weren't kidding about how messy this place is." She commented, trying to lighten the mood. He offered no response and she bit her lip, regretting it instantly as pain shot from her lip. She flinched as he sat down next to her and dabbed lightly at her lip with a semi-wet cloth. When he moved it away she saw blood.

"How long has he been doing this to you?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Teddy…" she said.

"Lily, I'm going to have to explain to your dad why I beat the living shit out of Johar…and he'll want to know."

"…a few months after I married him." She finally said. She saw his hair shift colors again. It was green…sickened. She looked away.

"He's been doing this to you for four years, and you haven't said a word? Lily!" he hissed out.

"It wasn't always like this, and he would apologize right after…" she began to say and he held back the growl that was burned in his throat, begging to come out. She was a classic abuse victim…

"Lily…" he said. "You aren't going back."

"But-"

"You ARE NOT going back." He repeated, looking at her sternly. He was begging her not to see him as just as much of a monster as Sedley Johar was, but he could see for a split second fear in her eyes. He swallowed roughly. "You aren't going back to that monster Lil. I won't let you, and your family won't let you either."

"They don't know."

"They will soon."

"Teddy-"

"For Merlin's sake Lily, look at what he did to you!" Teddy cried out, his voice hoarse. "He beat you! And you want to go back to him?!"

"I don't have anywhere to go." She whispered out. Teddy frowned.

"I have an extra room. You can stay here." He said. She looked at him, shocked. He was offering her a place to live? Why? She was just a nuisance…but she couldn't bear the other possibility of going home…her parents would never leave her alone. So against her better judgment she nodded. He sighed softly brushing his hand across the bruise of across her jawline. "…why don't you go to sleep okay?" he said, his voice softening. She bit her lip and nodded before he stood up. She went to stand as well but he placed a hand on her shoulder, before pushing her back to sit down on the bed.

"Sleep here tonight. The other room needs a bit of sprucing up." He said, forcing a grin. She smiled as well before flopping on the bed, curling up on her side. He stared at her for a few minutes, until he could hear her breathing even out and relax. Then he released his grip on the door banister, looking around before he finally spotted what he was looking for. The phone.

He hesitated for a second as it was pretty late and he was pretty sure Harry and Ginny were sleeping, but the image of Lily being beaten returned to the forefront of his mind and he grabbed the phone, dialing it. It rang for a few minutes, and for a second he thought that Harry and Ginny were just going to ignore it. Then there was a click.

"_What is so important that you had to call us at 5 in the morning?" _Harry's annoyed voice came through the phone, and Teddy almost smiled. Almost.

"Yeah well, I thought I would call you first before someone called you about Johar."

"_Why? Is he okay?"_

"That would depend. But in retrospect, he has a broken jaw, most likely still knocked out, and missing a bunch of teeth. But then again I feel _**great.**_"

"_You-! Teddy what in Merlin's name did you do!? Do you realize if he presses charges you could-"_

"He was beating Lily." Teddy interrupted. There was silence on the phone before Teddy heard movement of sheets and figured that Harry had just stood up.

"_What?"_

"I walked in on Johar beating Lily. Needless to say he deserved it, and I would have done more if I didn't want to get Lily as far away as possible."

"_Is she okay? Are you at Mungo's right now?"_

"No…she wouldn't go. We're at my flat." Teddy said. "Apparently he's done worse…she's asleep now."

"_Ginny and I will be there in a few minutes. Don't let her leave." _

"I won't. Wasn't planning on it." He said before hanging up. Sighing he walked back to the bedroom and saw that she was still there. Silently he sat down on the edge of the bed just staring. She made no movement that she felt him sit down and for a second he feared that she wasn't there. She mumbled something incoherently before shifting, ending that fear. Suddenly there was a large knot in his throat, nearly making it impossible to breath.

"_You were supposed to protect her…isn't that what you promised her?" _a voice taunted and he tried to swallow. He managed to push back the emotions that were threatening to flood out of him when he heard frantic knocking. Forcing himself up, he went to the door and opened it. Ginny and Harry stood there, anxious looks on her face.

"She's asleep." He said rather lamely, motioning towards the bedroom door. Ginny gave him a thankful smile, before rushing through the mess and going through the door. Harry stayed next to Teddy.

"Tell me everything that happened."

"Actually…why don't you and I head over to her house. There's a certain person I'm hoping is still there….and I'll explain everything on the way there." Teddy said. He then noted Harry's eyes. They were steely green, anger swirling around them. His jaw was set and his mouth had thinned into a straight line.

"Yeah…lets."


	5. CRASHING DOWN

Sedley Johar was not having a good day. Not a good day at all. For one he had been kicked out of his normal pub way before final call, and then he had come home to his worthless excuse of a wife in the arms of another man. It wasn't even a _man_. It was a Halfling. Part wizard part monster. And then when his wife had had the gall to say she was leaving him, that bastard had come back after leaving. And now he when he came to, he found himself bound to the leg of his own bed, his jaw feeling as though it wasn't there anymore.

And that bastard Teddy Remus Lupin stood right there in front of him, his arms crossed.

"I fixed your jaw, so feel free to talk all you want." He said simply. Sedley glared at him angrily.

"You little fucking bastard."

"Great first words."

"You lousy bastard! Untie me at once!" Sedley growled out. Teddy chuckled for a second, before returning his glare back at the other man.

"Untie you? Why the hell would I untie a bastard who beat a girl I watch grow up?"

"I haven't the _foggiest _idea what you're talking about."

"You're really going to go down that road?" Teddy said walking over and grabbing the man by the shirt of his collar. "I'm going to make myself perfectly clear…retract that filthy _**lie **_and tell me the truth."

"Why would I tell vermin like you?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe to make your life a little bit easier? You know when I drag you down to the Auror's and tell them what you've been doing to your wife." Teddy said and for a split second he saw Sedley's face pale, before growing red in fury. He felt his heart harden. This is what Lily had to face for nearly four years of her life…this monster.

"You're bluffing."

"Why did you beat up Lily Luna Potter?" Teddy asked. Sedley looked unamused.

"Her name is Lily Johar."

"Why did you beat up Lily Johar then?" Teddy spat out, annoyance clearly evident in his voice. Sedley looked at him through a bloodshot eye, though whether that was because of his alcohol level or the black eye he was now sporting, Teddy didn't know.

"She needed to be taught a lesson."

"A _lesson_?" Teddy asked. "You beat her just to teach her a lesson?!"

"She was being ignorant and forgetting she is my wife. She doesn't need to be in the hands of another man." Sedley retorted and Teddy felt not only anger flare, but guilt as well. It was because of him…that bastard had beat her that night because he and Lily had shared a hug.

"Well I hope you learn a lot of lessons down in Azkaban you sick fuck." Teddy growled out. Sedley laughed, and it sounded insane.

"Do you really think they will believe you of all people?" Sedley asked and Teddy froze. "A son of a halfblood and a bloody werewolf?"

"They'll believe me more than they'll believe you." Teddy said grabbing Sedley by the collar of his shirt. Sedley spat in Teddy's face and the other man jerked slightly as a mixture of blood and saliva hit him in the face.

"Oh please. I come from at least a semi-respectable family. Not from a family that involves a disowned grandmother and two dead parents who you don't even remember. I doubt anyone would even give you _a second thought_."

"Oh you'd be surprised."

In any other case Teddy would have been amused at how quickly Sedley Johar's face turned a sickly white. But this case Teddy was too enraged to care as Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak, revealing himself to the other man.

"You honestly think I wouldn't have told her parents by now?" Teddy asked with some sort of sick satisfaction. "Try to deny it _**now.**_"

"Sir, I can explain-"

"Explain it to my arse." Harry said harshly, cutting off Johar. He took over where Teddy had been and gripped his **former **son-in-law tightly by his shirt. "You and me are going to have a man to man chat on the way to the ministry lock-up and I can assure you, I cannot WAIT for that." Harry growled out.

"Uncle Harry-"

"Trust me Teddy, I'm not going to kill him. Though there is a part of me that wants to, I refuse to hurt my daughter more than she already is." Harry growled out. "Go back home. You've done enough today." He said. Teddy almost denied that request…he didn't know how Harry was right now. But right then he realized how mentally and emotionally exhausted he was. He was ready to crawl into his bed and not leave it for the next two months.

"…Are you sure?" he finally asked. The age lines that normally were barely visible on the older man's face was now defined and hardened, showing how much rage he was holding back.

"I'm positive. Go." Harry said. Teddy hesitated for a second, pausing only for a second to grab Lily's wand that he saw on the side of her bed. Then he disparated away.

* * *

It felt odd…she felt warm? Since when had she ever felt warm?

"_Oh right…"_ She thought. _"Teddy."_ Teddy had found out the secret that she had been hiding for four years. Dammit. But wait…this wasn't Teddy who was in the room now. Or at least she hoped it wasn't, because if it was, he needed to explain why he was running his fingers tenderly through her hair. Slowly her eyes opened and she realized there was heavy breathing.

Feminine breathing.

"Lily?" a voice asked and she realized it was her mother. She froze. A part of her wanted to shut her eyes and hide in the darkness for all of eternity.

"_But that won't do you any good…"_ A voice reasoned. Sighing she sat up, her body stiff and her gaze remained on her lap. The bed dipped next to her and she glanced up for a split second, connecting with the same brown eyes of her mother.

"…hi…" she whispered out. Then the half-sob came out and Lily was drawn into her mother's arms. Lily blinked in shock as her mother began to half-rock her. She had never seen her mother act like this…not even when James had nearly broken his neck playing Quidditch. Maybe she had been like this when James's wife had died two years ago…but she didn't know…she had only managed to come to the funeral.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry my little girl." Her mother whispered out and Lily felt her heart crumble.

"It…" she swallowed. "It wasn't your fault." She said. It was no one's fault…only hers.

"I didn't protect you. Bloody hell, if your father wasn't dealing with Johar, I would be making sure that he would be walking on crutches for a year!"

"What?" Lily said. "What do you mean Dad is…"

"Sweetheart, Teddy and your father went back to go bring Sedley Johar to the Ministry. That boy should be kissing the ground they didn't bring your brothers." Ginny said, wiping her cheeks roughly. Lily felt her cheeks grow warm.

"Oh merlin…I'm sorry…" she whispered out.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Ginny asked, looking at her daughter concerned. "You can't be apologizing for this are you?"

"Mum…"

"Lily Luna Potter." Her mother said sternly. "Don't you dare think it is your fault." She added. Lily looked at her and then back down at her lap.

"Okay…" she whispered out. But deep down, she knew it was her fault.

Everything was her fault.

* * *

He knew he had promised Harry that he would go back to the flat…he knew he had promised him that. But he couldn't…because everything was moving too fast for Teddy. So now he was in a secluded part of a park. He had managed before, running on the fumes of his fury, his rage. But now that was all used up.

And it all came crashing down.

He slid to the ground just staring at the darkened sky.

"Dammit."


	6. MORNING

She awoke again to the scent of food being made. Daring to open her eyes she blinked slightly at the sunlight before finally sitting up and observing her surroundings. It wasn't clean, merlin there was barely any empty spot. But for some reason she felt this was more home than the small cottage she cleaned every day to try and appease Johar. Then it came rushing back and she wanted to cry.

Sedley Johar.

Oh Merlin, what had she done? She had not only been found out. It had been by someone she had had a crush on for years, and had hidden away for her sake as well as his. And not soon after her parents had been informed…it would only be a matter of time before her brothers found out...and then it was going to be absolute HELL. She curled up for a second, not wanting to leave the bedroom. She knew her parents were in there, she knew Teddy was there.

"God do I want to go out?" she murmured. But she didn't have a choice. Looking down she realized her clothes were covered in specks of blood. Her blood. That wouldn't be a good topic to bring up...maybe she could grab one of Teddy's shirts?

She glanced back up and saw a folded set of clothes on a chair and smiled. Seems like her Mum had thought of everything…again. She pushed her fingers through her hair, trying to calm herself as she peeled the clothes off and looked at her body. Bruises littered her form, and she winced as she brushed her fingers across the harsh lines of the bruises. It didn't really bother her at how ugly they looked, way too used to the sight of the black and blue, and the fading darkened brown. She was too used to the aches and pains that came along with the bruises.

But her parents, her brothers, and Merlin the rest of her family weren't. At least not to bruises like this. And now a small group of them knew.

She grabbed the shirt and pulled it on, hiding the bruises and pulled on the pants. She hesitated at the door, before swallowing and opening a crack to see who was there. Her parents were there and she could see Teddy sitting at the island, talking to Harry. She then saw two other people. At first she didn't recognize them, but when the woman moved her head slightly, she became quickly aware that it was her Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. She felt her heart drop.

Now she _really _didn't want to leave this room.

"_You're a Potter and a Weasley. You have bravery INSCRIBED in your genes." _A voice chastised. She frowned. Well even if that was the case, that bravery had been snuffed out when she lived with Sedley. Nonetheless, after another minute of hesitation she sighed in resignation and slowly opened the door, hesitating on the thought of leaving the room, but when her stomach angrily growled at her, she left the warm confines of the room and into the living room, nearly tripping on a misplaced speaker.

"Teddy, I know you're a bloke and all, but have you ever cleaned?" she asked, gaining the attention of everyone. Ron and Hermione stared at her in shock, and she became well aware they were probably staring at the bruise across her temple. Coughing slightly, she shifted.

"So…"

"How did you sleep?" Harry asked trying to force a sense of casualness into the conversation. Lily shrugged slightly.

"Alright I guess." She responded. "I mean as good as I expected with the…well…" she trailed off with a shrug and noticed a pained expression on her father's face. "I slept fine." She added quickly. Ginny glanced at her husband and brother, and noticed that both looked about ready to be capable of murder. She sighed slightly.

"Here's some food Lily." She offered, and heard Lily's stomach grumbling loudly, groaning as though it understood the word 'food'. Lily's face turned red and Ginny chuckled.

"Like father, like daughter."

"Hey." Harry warned, glancing at his wife as Lily offered a slight smile, and Teddy chuckled sligthly. Whatever was going to happen because of this, whatever was going to occur…she didn't have much choice. But at least she knew she wasn't fighting completely alone.

At least she had that.

* * *

"You should have roughed up Johar more, mate." Ron said as he and Harry were watching as Lily, Ginny, and Hermione just chatted. Teddy was currently cleaning out the extra bedroom commenting every now and then as he walked out of the room with a box or garbage bag in hand. Hermione was handling the bruising better than Ron, who every time he had glanced at his niece and frowned.

"Teddy had already done the liberties of that before I got there." Harry said.

"So? Just look at the bruises she has. And from what you told me, that bastard has done that to her more than once." He growled out.

"Don't remind me." Harry said, his tone dark. "If I could do everything I wanted to do to him before I sent him to the prison, I would have. But nearly everything was illegal. And if he survived that, her chances of getting any type of compensation would be zilch, and even more so his chances of getting a lighter sentence would rise." Harry said. "And she at least deserves that."

"What compensation?" Ron said.

"Peace of mind." Harry replied. "I want to make sure she has that at least."

"...you are way too nice." Ron mumbled. "If it was Rose…" He trailed off. He couldn't imagine what Harry could have thought when Teddy had called him the night before…hell when Harry had called the next morning, _**he **_hadn't believed it. The Lily he knew and watched grow up wouldn't have let that happen to anyone. Especially to her.

But here she was, showing the cold, hard facts that she had been hiding an abusive relationship from the entire family, on her face, on her neck, her arms…Merlin, he couldn't imagine where else she had been bruised. The bruises were a stark contrast to her skin, and it hurt to just look at them. For once in his life, he didn't really mind that his daughter had married into the Malfoy family—in fact he was more than happy.

"Harry…she'll get through this." He finally said, looking at Harry who offered a slight glance. "If she's anything like you or Gin, hell even if she isn't…she has everyone in the family." He continued. "She'll get back to us…"

"I hope." Was all Harry could say. There wasn't anything else he could say. Because right now his daughter was a shattered relic of her old self, and he just prayed that when she finally managed to fix the broken pieces, she wouldn't have changed too much.

He could only hope that.


	7. BROTHERS

"Daddy!"

The cry broke Albus out of his slumber, and he blinked wearily as he heard the familiar chant.

"Shut off…the alarm." The tired mumble next to him said, the sound of rustling sheets as someone turned in them. He turned to see his wife, Annemarie's back to him, her brown curly hair flowing down the curve of the bed. He let out a soft chuckle.

"Can't shut off this alarm Love." He commented tiredly, before turning to look at the edge of the bed, and saw a pair of green eyes staring at him. He smiled sleepily.

"Hey Mary." He said, sitting up, and shoving his strands of hair that were in his face out of it, rubbing his eyes wearily. "What are you doing up?"

"Daddy, it's breakfast time."

"It's five in the morning sweetheart." He said. The little girl smiled brightly, apparently oblivious that it wasn't really time for breakfast. "Come on sweetie, why don't you lie down with Mummy and me for a little bit?"

"Okay." She said, and after Albus helped her up onto the bed, she crawled to the crevice between Annemarie and him as he lied back down. Annemarie turned wrapping her slim arms around Mary. Albus stared at his two girls and smiled.

If he had ever imagined that he would have dated Annemarie, let alone dating her when he was young, he would have been kidding himself. He had just thought that they would have been friends for the rest of their life. They had first met during their first year, when they had been placed into Ravenclaw. She had been shy as hell, but when he had finally gotten to know her, her personality had changed to where she was joking and confident, refusing to be even sort of girly. But as they had grown together, something had changed between them. And in their seventh year, in a rather normal argument, she had grabbed his shirt and dragged him over to her, locking her lips over his.

And they had started dating that day. And he hadn't regretted it for a moment.

* * *

James would never admit that he sometimes wondered how his life had changed so drastically. He slowly awoke, staring at the small flat bedroom he had, running his hand over the empty space that had once belonged to his wife. It had been accident, the constable had told him. But it didn't really matter how accident worthy the car crash had been, his wife had died.

"Dad! The toaster's smoking again!"

Granted he had been lucky. His son had survived.

He dashed out of his bed, almost killing himself as he tangled his legs in the sheets. Kicking the blanket off, he rushed out of the room, getting to the kitchen just in time to hear the smoke alarm go off. He pulled his son back, before pulling the plug of the toaster, and waving the smoke away, his son opening the window.

"…Okay…note to self, buy a new toaster. This has been the third time this month." He grumbled as he shook the machine upside down, and the charred remnants of what he assumed had once been an English muffin plopped out. "What Grandpa saw in some of these muggle contraptions I'll never know."

"…sorry for waking you up Dad." Aaron said, kicking the ground slightly. James turned to look at the eight year old boy and sighed, giving him a tired smile.

"No one was hurt, that's what is important. What were you trying to do anyways?"

"…Make you breakfast."

James blinked in surprise before smiling softly. This kid… "Aaron, that is really nice for you to do."

"Yeah. But I ruined it." Aaron complained. James shrugged and then looked around.

"It's no big deal. Tell you what, how about we go out and get some Brighton's Bill's?" he asked and watched his son's eyes grow large. "Sound good to you?"

"Yeah!" The younger boy cried out, rushing to his room to go and put his shoes on. James smiled and then stretched before going to his own room to change.

* * *

"Mummy?" Mary called, standing on a stool at the kitchen counter where Annemarie was making them a breakfast of French toast, Albus next to her frying some bacon.

"What?" Annemarie asked, her hair now in a loose ponytail and wearing Al's shirt and a pair of loose sweatpants. She turned from whisking the eggs and milk in the bowl to where her daughter stood.

"I want two." She held up her fingers. "Please?"

"Two?" Al called, looking over his shoulder at his daughter. "You've never eaten two before." He noted, teasing Mary.

"Well," She said, "I'm _really _hungry this morning."

Chuckling Annemarie leaned over and placed a kiss on Mary's forehead, earning a giggle. "Eat one and then if you're not full, I make you another. Okay?" She asked. Mary giggled and nodded, plopping back down into her seat, content in just watching her parents.

"Okay," Albus called, lifting the black iron skillet off of the stove and walked over to the counter. "Bacon is ready. How's the French toast gang doing?" He grinned as he put the bacon into a paper-lined basket.

"We're ready to go." Annemarie promised. Al walked over to her, kissing her gently. Annemarie responded instantly, and they only parted when Mary squealed.

"Ew! Cooties!" the little girl complained. Al's grin grew larger.

"Cooties huh?" he said, walking over to her and suddenly grabbing her, tickling her stomach, causing the little girl to laugh loudly. As Annemarie watched the two in amusement she heard the phone beginning to ring. Leaving her husband with their daughter, she went to the phone, picking it up.

"Hello."

"_Hey Ann. It's Harry."_

"Mr. Potter." She said politely. "How are you?"

"_I'm…fine…Can I talk to Albus please?"_

The tone startled her for a second and she paused, before looking back towards the kitchen.

"Al." She called.

"Yeah?"

"Your dad is on the phone. He wants to talk to you." She said. A minute later Al walked out of the kitchen, still holding Mary. With a short kiss he handed the little girl to her mother, before taking hold of the phone. Annemarie chuckled before walking into the kitchen, serving Mary some French toast and a piece of bacon, cutting the piece of bread into small bites. Mary automatically began to stuff her face. Watching her daughter, she tuned into Al's conversation.

"Hi Dad. Something up? Did James nearly blow up another st-! What's wrong with Lily?"

Annemarie's head shot up and she looked towards the hallway. The sharpness in Albus's voice spoke volumes. She knew, Merlin, everybody knew that James, Albus, and Lily were close, a lot closer than most siblings. And when it came to being overprotective, Albus and James would get first prize. That was obvious in Hogwarts when one of their dates was to follow Lily around on a date and ensure that the bastard didn't try to force Lily into a compromising position. But judging by Al's voice, something was wrong. Very wrong.

"What do you _mean_ he beat her?"

Annemarie's heart dropped.

That was not good. Not good at all.

**IT'S SHORT I KNOW, BUT I SORT OF HIT A BRICK WALL. SO IF ANY OF YOU REVIEW, TELL ME WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? XD**


	8. FAULT

_She was in the dark. She had been the darkness for four years. She had hung there, swinging limply in darkness like a caught fish, waiting to be reeled in. She was halted in her attempts to find the light. Halted, by an iron weight that froze her limbs, ensnaring her, and weaving around her like a spider. Something in the darkness laughed maliciously at her. She had not been able to get away._

"_**Why?" **__She thought wearily, looking at her hands. __**"If you knew this was going to happen, Merlin, why didn't you stop this? Why did you allow yourself to trust him?"**_

_There was no answer to her questions. Only laughter. Sedley's laughter. The delight of destruction. Despair clogged her mind, So there had never been a point. There were no platonic ideals. There were just empty shells of people, hiding the lies of what they truly were behind masks, randomly given strength and weakness._

_Teddy had been given strength._

_James had strength._

_Albus had achieved strength._

_But what had she gotten? What did she have? What she had achieved? Weakness. She had been born with the unseen label of weak. Maybe she should have died at a young age. She blinked in surprise at the despairing thought. _

_**Only the good die young. Because the good are weak. **__She huddled in the murky pool, watching the waters turn an angry, churning red, and she fought desperately against the paralyzing strength of the idea. _

_Princes never came. What was the point in being a china doll? Why couldn't she have been strong like her mother, or her aunt? She was like a damsel in the muggle stories her aunt would read to her when they had visited them. She would sit there curled up to Hermione, right next to Rose as Hermione told the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and all those princesses. But now she realized that all she was was the weaker vessel. She couldn't shed her biology liked a cracked eggshell and rise to do battle with nature. She __**was **__weak. She felt like she was dying. Dying, warped by self-pity. Alone._

* * *

"Al!"

Albus turned in confusion, and immediately spotted his older brother rushing over to him. They had apparated nearby, unable to floo. He had been surprised that he had actually managed to apparate without splinching himself. His sister…his baby sister…how could they have not noticed this before? In hindsight, thinking back to how oddly she acted at the reunion, they should have known. But they hadn't. They hadn't…and she had been hurt.

Annemarie looked up at her husband, nudging him back into the real world. He shook his head, slightly as James finally managed to get to them, Aaron close behind. James's face was an unusual pale color.

"Dad called you?" Al asked, his voice surprising calm, deceptive of the storm that was rushing through him. James nodded, his body wracked with shudders from him running, apparently having run from wherever he had been. Albus faintly remembered that James lived nearby…but not close.

"She's still at Teddy's right?" James asked, glancing at the apartment complex. Once again, Al could only nod.

"I can't believe we didn't see…how could we not know?" James hissed out. Al was quiet.

"Come on." Annemarie finally said, her voice soft, yet she watched as Al flinched at the tone. "Let's get inside." She said, tugging Al into moving with her free hand, her other wrapped around Mary who was in being held by her. James followed dumbly, almost like she was a shepherd and they were sheep. It felt odd, being led into an apartment, going to see your little sister. It felt wrong the reason why they were being led in as well.

As they climbed the stairs, finally reaching the floor that Teddy's flat was. They knocked on the door. A few seconds passed, before a familiar click was heard, and the door was open. Ginny welcomed her sons in.

"Is she alright?" James asked automatically. Ginny sighed.

"She's better. But alright is a stretch." Ginny replied calmly.

"Where is he?" Albus growled out. "Where is that bastard?"

"Your father admitted him to a detention cell in Azkaban last night." Ginny retorted coolly. "I honestly don't give a damn. He can rot in hell for all I care."

"Agreed." James said, peering over his mother's head and finally spotting a familiar redhead who was sitting on the couch, staring at the coffee table, a cup of tea in her hands. Hermione was chatting with her, most likely trying to keep her preoccupied. Ron, who was sitting next to his wife, huffed glaring at his wife and said something along the lines of a retort, earning a glare from Hermione and from what he could see a small smile ghost Lily's face.

Something snapped in James and he pushed past his mother, going over to where Lily sat. The moment he saw her face, his heart tore into pieces. The bruise outline across the edge of her face was dark, a sharp contrast to her pale face. Her eyes were lost, haunted. He had never seen that look on her face. The closest they had seen a look similar to hers was every now and then on their Uncle George's face whenever he talked about Fred. She offered a slight smile, glancing at her brothers.

"Hi…" was all she said. Albus and James just stared at her, taking their sister's image in, burning it into their retinas. She began to look uncomfortable, pushing a strand of her hair to behind her ear, her gaze shifting down to looking at the carpet. James coughed, trying to clear his throat which had suddenly seemed to gain a peach-pit sized lump.

"Hey Lil." He finally managed to say, surprising himself at how calm his voice was. Al sat on one side of her, James doing the same on the other. Hermione and Ron excused themselves, allowing the siblings to be alone. She was silent, not offering any excuses, waiting for them to accuse. It never came.

"We're sorry." Albus finally offered. She looked at him, the haunted look disappearing, replaced with a confused look.

"Why are you apologizing?" She whispered. Why was that a repeating factor with her family? It hadn't been their fault. It had been her fault. She had let it go on for four years; she had hidden it from them…so why were they apologizing?

"We didn't stop him." James answered for his younger brother, brushing Lily's hair behind her ear. "And you got hurt."

"It's not your fault." She said, her voice wavering as she tried desperately to remain strong. "It isn't. It's-"

"It's not your fault either." Albus interrupted. "Get that thought out of your head. It's not your fault." She was silent, staring down at her hands, only offering a slight nod. James and Albus glanced at each other over her head, the same thought rushing through their head. She was lying…the Lily they knew, the one who would have been able to see that it truly wasn't her fault, was far away…it wasn't going to be easy to bring their sister back. But Merlin be damned they weren't going to give up.

They owed it to her.

**ONCE AGAIN A SHORT CHAPTER…TEDDY WILL BE COMING BACK IN THE NEXT ONE PROMISE :)**


	9. DINNER

"I'm wondering…why didn't you just apparate into your apartment?"

Teddy looked up from where he was leaning against the kitchen, and glanced over at Lily, who was currently making dinner. Despite telling her he could handle it, she insisted that she would do it, saying that it was the least she could do after everything. He wondered if it was a way to take her mind off of her family, who had been reluctant in leaving her here. He looked at her in confusion.

"Come again?"

"You told my parents that the only reason why you came back to my house was because you had left your wallet with your key there…but why didn't you just apparate in?" She asked again, looking up from the stove. He stared at her for a few seconds before rubbing the back of his neck. That was a good question.

"I would have needed to have come back eventually. There was no time like the present." He finally replied. She blinked, looking at him before smiling and shrugging.

"I'm glad you did."

He was too. Merlin if he hadn't gone back, there was no telling what would have happened to her. Maybe instead of finding her beaten but alive…he would have been attending her funeral. He shuddered at that thought, looking back when she started to hum softly under her breath. He closed his eyes, for some reason comforted by that soft sound.

"Dinner's ready!" she finally chirped with a proud smile, and for a second Teddy saw the old Lily staring back at him before it returned to the hidden, subdued Lily that he had seen. Hope flooded into him. She was still there, she was still his Lily. He blinked in surprise at the sudden possessiveness. Since when had she been his? She had never been _**his**_. Shaking his head he smiled at her.

"That's great…what did you make?"

"Lamb chops." She responded. "If I remember correctly, that used to be your favorite."

"Still is…" He stated. "How did you…"

"Whenever Mum made that, you would be at our door within thirty minutes. James always joked that your nose and appetite was the only werewolf attributes you got." She teased, looking at him with a soft smile. "And you would always fight with me and James for that last chop."

He chuckled. "That's true. Though if I remember correctly, you always won." He added, and she laughed looking at him cheekily.

"Of course I won. Why wouldn't I? I could easily bend you two to my will when I was younger." She teased. He grinned slightly before taking a chop and sitting down at the island table. She followed suit, pushing her hair back as she began to cut the meat. Sure enough, she was an excellent cook.

"Seems like you got Grandma Molly's knack at cooking." He stated as he chewed the lamb chop, relishing the taste. She blushed softly at this, and offered a soft smile.

"It's not that good. Grandma is excellent in the kitchen…I'm not that good." She replied. He looked at her.

"Bullshit." He finally answered, earning a snort of surprise. "If Johar is the one that told you your cooking is awful, he was lying or has never known good cooking."

She laughed softly and offered a look of thanks, and the a flash of recognition crossed her face. "Oh shit…I nearly forgot."

"What?" He asked, looking almost amused by her using a curse word.

"I have to go to work tomorrow."

"You work?"

"We had to pay the bills somehow." She explained. "Granted half of it went to rent and the bills, while the other was his…drinking money…" She responded, her voice soft, nearly shy. He realized that she felt embarrassed, and decided to change the topic.

"So…what do you do?"

"I dance."

At that response he choked on the piece of chop he had just eaten, and began to hit his chest hard to dislodge the piece of meat. She looked at him confused and watched as he gulped some water down, before looking at her again.

"Come again?" he asked in alarm. She looked at him confused then realized what he was thinking. She smacked his arm lightly, glaring at him.

"My, what a dirty mind you have." She teased. "You would think after 18 years of me dragging you to dance recitals you would figure out that I'm a _**ballet**_dance teacher." She clarified. "Little kids."

"Oh sweet Merlin, don't SCARE me like that." He hissed out in relief. She looked at him amused.

"And if I had been a stripper?" She asked. "Contrary to popular belief the women that are strippers are just like anyone else who needs money to pay bills. They aren't sluts." He seemed to be choking again.

"Look, I don't really like thinking of a girl I watched grow up, being a stripper. Besides the fact your father would _maim_ me if I ever breathed that to him." He argued. She chuckled softly, resting her face in the palm of her hand.

"In any case, I think Sed would have killed me if I stripped." She responded softly. "So I'm a dance teacher. Thankfully I'll be able to go back to work tomorrow."

"You can always call in sick." He replied. She shook her head.

"No, I actually like doing what I do." She replied. "And it was the only time I had fun." She added. He looked at her and then shrugged.

"I'll come along."

"Ted…you have your own job."

"Well considering I'm possibly going to be under investigation for assaulting someone, I'll probably be suspended for a bit with pay." He commented and saw her pale. "Don't worry about it Lil's. I would have done it again and again."

"But still…Ted…your job-"

"Give me some credit Lily." He stated. "That bastard can throw as much stuff as he wants to throw at me. Your father heard him confess, and it is likely they'll put him under Veritaserum. He's doomed no matter what."

She still looked a bit apprehensive, but nodded nonetheless. She pushed her hair back and then smiled.

"You excited to be going back to work?"

"I love the kids that I work with." She replied. "And the other teachers and the madam are really nice…they were like my family away from family." She continued. He looked at her and then looked back at his food.

Maybe going with her wasn't a bad idea at all. He would finally get to meet other people who knew her in the four years that she had lived in hell. Maybe they could tell him and her family what had happened beyond closed doors, what they could only guess.

Maybe. Just maybe.

**SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?**


	10. DANCE CLASS

Lily always loved her large family. Large families were fun, and the Weasley's were definitely no exception. When she was younger, she loved Christmas because when one had a larger family; it meant a louder, happier Christmas. And for a young child, also meant more presents.

But right then, a larger family seemed to offer nothing but annoyance.

"Did all of you have to come?" She asked dryly as she looked behind her. Every one of her uncles, her aunt Hermione, her parents, brothers, their children, Annemarie, and Teddy had come along for the ride. Apparently Weasley's were also known for their curiosity.

"Hey, we're curious."

"You're nosy." She retorted as she played with the strands of her hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail. To that, all of her family members offered a grin. She rolled her eyes, before opening the door to the dancing studio. The sound of different music beats immediately filled the area as the clan walked in.

"Lily!" A cheery voice called out before a woman leapt at her, pulling her into a tight hug. Lily stumbled a bit, before laughing.

"Calantha!" Lily exclaimed. The said girl who had deep brown hair and a matching set of chocolate brown eyes giggled looking at Lily.

"Man it's been so long."

"It's only been two weeks." Lily argued. Calantha rolled her eyes and smirked, placing her hands on her hip.

"That constitutes as a lot in my book." The other woman said. "Besides the fact, your students have missed you. How do you _manage_?" She asked. Lily burst out laughing, covering it with a hand.

"I must have the magical touch." She teased. Calantha laughed and then noticed the large group looking around the lobby.

"Who are they?" She whispered. Lily glanced behind her shoulder and smiled slightly.

"My family."

"Your family?" Calantha asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Lily looked at her friend.

"Don't be mean to them." She ordered. Calantha didn't seem convinced, or ready to follow that order.

"They didn't visit you all this time, and they didn't do anything to help you."

"Cal…" Lily interrupted. "They didn't know because I didn't tell them. You know that."

"Still…" She said, sighing. "Sorry. I'm guess I'm just bitter with what happened to you. And that I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"…If it makes you feel better I'm divorcing Sed." Lily commented with a shrug. Calantha looked at her in shock and then a wide grin spread on her face.

"Really? What made you decide?"

"…he hit me again." Lily replied, her voice soft. As far as Calantha knew, Sed had only hit her one other time. She didn't have the guts to right now say that it had happened on more than one occasion. Calantha stared at her before her eyes narrowed and she bit her lip.

"Well good riddance." The other girl said, flicking her hair behind her shoulder. "So what's the real reason your family came to visit? It can't be just to see your lovely face."

"You see the bloke with the blue hair?" Lily finally answered, pointing at Teddy who—along with the Potter family—was looking at the pictures hung against the wall, most likely at the dance recitals she and her classes did.

"Yeah…is he one of those punk blokes?" Calantha asked. "I doubt Madam would be very appreciative of that." Lily laughed and shook her head, smiling.

"No, he just prefers the color. Well…long story short…he was the one who saw Sed hit me. And well…"

"He got you out." Calantha finished for her, her attitude changing for Teddy. "Well, then he's okay by me." Lily laughed softly.

"I figured." She stated and then glanced at her family. "Do you mind watching them for me while I start class?"

"Aye aye." Calantha said, saluting her. Lily laughed before leaving.

* * *

"Wow…I never figured that Lily was such a great dancer." James murmured as they stared at the photos. It seemed that Lily flourished in dancing. There were pictures of her dancing by herself, but many was of her standing with a small group of children, all clad in some dance outfit, smiling brightly at the camera.

"Well of course." A voice interjected and the group turned to see a young woman standing there. "She's one of the favorite dance teachers here." The girl continued.

"Er…that's good." James added, glancing at his father. "Right?"

"Well considering that a lot of kids come here just for her classes, I would hope so." She huffed out, placing her hands on her hips.

"And…you are?" James retorted.

"My name is Calantha Roberts." She replied. "I'm Lily's friend."

"Oh pleased to meet you." Albus stated, trying to calm the situation down between James and Calantha.

"Pleasure." She replied dryly, flicking her eyes towards James again. James glared at her, before Calantha looked away.

"If you want to watch Lily in class you can. You just have to be quiet." She retorted coolly before walking away. James grumbled.

"What's with her?"

"And you _wonder_ why you can't get a date." Albus grumbled before following Calantha. James rolled his eyes, mimicking Albus before following his family. The peered into a semi-large studio and immediately spotted Lily in the center, surrounded by small children, all clad in a black ad pink unitards, some wearing tutus. In contrast to Lily's pointer shoes, the children all had small pink dance shoes, and by a majority, their hair was in neat little buns, whereas Lily's hair was in a neat ponytail. All the children had bright smiles on as they clamored around the redhead.

"Missus Lily!"

"You back!" was the mixture of cries. Lily chuckled, and bent down, ruffling one of the girl's hair.

"Why yes I am." She concluded. "I hope you all practiced a little bit while I was gone." She stated her hands on her hips. Another roar of children talking grew, before Lily clapped her hands, silencing them.

"Alright everyone, get to the bar. We need to start stretching." She declared. The group nodded rapidly and sped to an old ballet bar. It looked like it had seen better days, though. Nonetheless the children all grasped it tightly in their tiny hands, looking at Lily as she instructed them for stretching. Every now and then she would walk over to a little child, helping them stretch out. After ten minutes of this she clapped her hands, calling out the different positions that the children had to take.

It was almost nostalgic for the Weasley/Potter clan. How many times had one of them been forced to go to one of Lily's dance classes and watched her do the same movements that she was now teaching. Harry stared wistfully at his daughter, who was clapping a rhythm now, remembering when she had tried—in vain—to teach him and her uncles how to Plié.

"_**You're doing it wrong!" **__The little Lily huffed as she watched the men trying to bend without breaking their knees. George looked at Harry, exasperated._

"_**I want you to know, the moment I can move my legs again, you are SO dead."**__ George grumbled as Lily marched over to him and then poked the underside of his knees, forcing him to bend a bit more. Ron seemed to be failing all together, struggling a bit more than his brothers. Harry was faring the best out of the group of six men, though he looked at his brother-in-law in confusion._

"_**How is this MY fault? You're the one who took her to see the Nutcracker."**__ Harry retorted under his breath, looking innocent when Lily turned to glare at him. They could hear their wives cackling from the house, observing that their grown husbands were being literally enslaved by a five year old._

"_**You're the one who conceded to dance lessons!" **__George hissed back out. Lily was currently observing them, but then heard Ginny call out for lunch. The little girl's need for food overruled the apparent torture she was putting her uncles through. She clapped her hands._

"_**Class dismissed."**__ She chirped, racing away and paying no heed to her uncles or father who had all collapsed the moment her back was turned._

"_**Like I said Potter, the moment I can move again, you're so dead."**_

Harry was pulled out of his memories by a flurry of cheering and giggling and spotted that the girls had all clamored around Lily.

"What are we doing for the recital this time?" One of the older ones chirped happily. "Twelve Princess right?" She asked. Harry noted that, while the majority of the girls appeared to fancy that idea, one girl seemed to frown at the suggestion, kicking at the ground. Lily apparently noticed her and smiled, bending to where she was eyelevel to the girl. The eight year old blushed at the sudden attention, her strawberry blond hair quivering slightly in her ponytail.

"Is there something else you wanted to be Chloe?" Lily asked sweetly. The girl blushed again, and looked down at the ground.

"A pirate…" she finally murmured, her face deepening in color when several of the girls snickered. Lily silenced them with a look and then smiled at Chloe again.

"I think that's a fine idea." She replied and Chloe looked at her startled. "Unique in its own way. Anyone else want to be a pirate?" She asked standing up. The girls were silent and then two of them brightened, and raised their hands, waving them around, animated. Her family seemed amused.

"She's a great teacher." Bill stated as they observed her.

"She's definitely improved on her teaching." George agreed. "Granted, we were loyal subjects to the _Lily's Dance Academy_ and being her uncles we taught her pretty well how to teach."

"I seem to remember that she used Bambi eyes on you all to get you to do her bidding." Ginny stated with a smirk.

"Whatever the case, she's gotten better at teaching." George huffed.

"There's one place I want to visit, while Lily is here." Harry suddenly said. It probably had been playing through all their minds, though none had voiced it. Teddy glanced over at Harry, frowning.

"Are you sure? I mean…you visited-"

"I want to actually _see_ where she lived. I just followed you when we picked up _him_." Harry interrupted. "I didn't really look around in the darkness." He explained. Teddy shrugged, but glancing around at her family, it was apparent they too were curious. Teddy swallowed.

This…wasn't going to be a fun reminder.

**SHORT...I KNOW...HOPEFULLY IT WILL GET BETTER...-**


End file.
